Traveling the States, do we drive or do we fly

This summer, my husband and I spent a lot of
time deciding whether to drive or take an airplane from our home in Minnesota
to Southern California.

Welcome
to Thrifty Living Today, a special way of life for the Twenty-first Century.

My name is Lori Blatzheim and I am your host.

Some of the factors we considered were the
following.

Driving
involves a lot of preparation

First of all, the car needs to be in good
shape, running well, with a recent oil change, and good tires. Insurance
documents need to be in the glove compartment. We need to select the route and plan
where we will stop for the night. We need maps and/or a GPS to guide our way. (We
use maps.)

We have to pack and place suitcases and
supplies in the car. The ice chest needs to be prepared with ice (I use half
gallon milk containers, filled with frozen water). Then it is placed in the
trunk along with the suitcases.

Emergency supplies need to be available. I
bring a first aid kit and my husband selects a few tools which may prove
helpful on the road.

Work of Driving

The distance
from our home to our daughter’s in California is close to 2000 miles. We try to
make it in three and a half days. That means we need to rise early and find a
place to stay by sunset. We aim for about 500-600 miles a day. While driving,
we do our best to keep a safe speed and avoid trucks.

The
challenge of age

O.K. so all of this worked fine when we were
younger. Our children grew up with the knowledge that every summer we would
make this trip. They learned the names of all the States we passed through and
what the word State meant. They saw desert, ranch land, farms cities, and towns.
They noticed the roofs of houses and how they became more pitched (and less
flat) as we approached areas that would be covered by snow in winter. They
looked forward to rest stops and parks where we let them run around and play on
any available play equipment.

Now, they are grown. Our stamina and
concentration has declined a bit. We started asking ourselves if a tedious trip
would be a good idea.

We considered the roundtrip
fare. The least expensive we could find was $350 for each of us to fly round
trip.

We thought of the cost and inconveniences of modern
flight; transportation to and from airports, weight and cost of booked luggage, the
squished seats, an additional charge for sitting with family members, the need
to eat prior to the flight.

But then,
nothing is perfect.

After
all our thinking, discussion, and calculation of price, we decided to fly.

Do we think we made the right choice? Yes.

Why

·Cost of gas

·Service needs
for the car

·Concerns over
breaking down on the road

·Putting
additional miles on the car

·Potential for
“on the road breakdowns”

·Cost of
lodging and eating on the road

·A
potential for a medical event during the trip

I really miss the opportunity to see the country, meet
people along the road and reap the satisfaction of completing a successful
trip. But time and wisdom has convinced me that we took the right trip, at the
right time.

I wish you all satisfactory trips from one end of our
wonderful country to the other. Those of us who have taken the time to really
see the land have a special appreciation for it. The USA is a very special
place.

Lori Blatzheim is a wife, mother, grandmother, writer, thrift
advocate, and retired nurse. She knows that use of Thrift can help people
because she has experienced the benefits.

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Dollar Stretcher, Inc. does not assume responsibility for advice given. All advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe and suitable for his or her own situation.